Mercedes reinforced the SUV's door sills to improve occupant protection in small overlap front crashes for models built after August 2013, it said in a statement.

“In the small overlap front test, the driver's space was maintained reasonably well,” the institute said. “Injury measures recorded on the dummy (belted into the driver's seat) used in the crash test indicated that injuries to the left lower leg would be possible in a crash of this severity, but the risk of significant injuries to other body regions would be low. The dummy's head made good contact with the front airbag, which stayed in position during the crash. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structures and outside objects.”

The institute added the small overlap test to its lineup of vehicle safety evaluations last year. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle's front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph.

The 2014 M-Class is the first Mercedes to earn the Top Safety Pick Plus award since the institute began testing for small overlap protection in 2012.

<p>The 2014 Mercedes-Benz M-Class, which is made in Vance, has received a Top Safety Pick Plus rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.</p><p>The institute graded vehicles in test crashes for performance in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and seat/head restraint evaluations.</p><p>Mercedes reinforced the SUV's door sills to improve occupant protection in small overlap front crashes for models built after August 2013, it said in a statement.</p><p>“In the small overlap front test, the driver's space was maintained reasonably well,” the institute said. “Injury measures recorded on the dummy (belted into the driver's seat) used in the crash test indicated that injuries to the left lower leg would be possible in a crash of this severity, but the risk of significant injuries to other body regions would be low. The dummy's head made good contact with the front airbag, which stayed in position during the crash. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structures and outside objects.”</p><p>The institute added the small overlap test to its lineup of vehicle safety evaluations last year. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole. In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle's front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph. </p><p>The 2014 M-Class is the first Mercedes to earn the Top Safety Pick Plus award since the institute began testing for small overlap protection in 2012.</p><center><p>****************</p><p><i> Reach the newsroom staff at <a href="mailto:news@tuscaloosanews.com">news@tuscaloosanews.com</a> or 205-722-0189.&nbsp;</i></p><p><div class="fb-like" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/tuscaloosanews" data-send="false" data-layout="button_count" data-width="200" data-show-faces="false" data-font="tahoma"></div><i>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/tuscaloosanews">The Tuscaloosa News coverage on Facebook</a></i></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/TuscaloosaNews" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-size="large">Follow @TuscaloosaNews</a><script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script>&nbsp; <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?screen_name=TuscaloosaNews" class="twitter-mention-button" data-size="large" data-related="TuscaloosaNews">Tweet to @TuscaloosaNews</a><script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script></p>